Along with the release of her latest album, Thank U, Next, Ariana Grande published a new music video for her next single, "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored," and the ending shocked many fans. The video features a major plot twist in which Grande ends up with the girlfriend, rather than the boyfriend it seems she's been singing to the whole time.
The video follows Grande around a series of parties where she runs into the seemingly happy couple, though each party is caught gazing at Grande instead of each other. At the final party, the girlfriend shows up looking like Grande's dopplegänger, signature ponytail and all. The last scene of the video shows Grande leaning in to kiss the girlfriend in a pool.
But there are more similarities between the girlfriend and Grande. If viewers look closely, they'll see copies of Grande's tattoos on her neck and hand.
Fans were wildly surprised and excited by the new video, which they claim is challenging stereotypes. But there are two possibilities to the video and song's real meaning. Here's what fans are saying on Twitter.
The more obvious possible meaning behind the song is seen in the more surface-level moments in the video. Grande is lusting after someone, be it the girl or the boyfriend, and wants them to break up so she can start her own relationship with them. Some fans have suggested the line may be about Big Sean, Grande's ex. She previously mentioned him in the "Thank U, Next" video, singing "Thought I'd end up with Sean, but it wasn't a match," and left a secret note in her "burn book" saying Sean "can still get it."
Other fans think Grande could be experimenting with women, or may be bisexual. Initially, fans thought Grande had said "Her name is Aubrey," about a new love in her life in the "Thank U, Next" lyrics. She clarified: she'd said "Her name is Ari" as a reference to herself. But some fans aren't so sure Grande isn't moving on to women.
Another reading of Grande's message in "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" runs a bit deeper. In this alternative, Grande is the girlfriend. She's speaking to a significant other who she's grown bored with, and wants to explore life on her own. It would fall into line with themes which recur throughout the album, like in "NASA" and the self-love line on "Thank U, Next." This theory also explains why the girlfriend in Grande's video looks so much like the singer, with mirror images enabling her to articulate that she needs time to love herself.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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